I love tinted lip balms, but it is hard to find the perfect tinted balm.  Most of the time, they have that weird lipstick taste and ultimately end up drying out your lips as much as a regular lipstick.  MAC, Fresh, Tarte, and Smashbox come to mind as disappointments.

Burt’s Bees new tinted lip balm is the dream balm.  A light, sheer touch of color in a protective, moisturizing lip balm.  Loaded with goodies like shea butter, coconut oil, soybean oil, olive oil, and rosemary extract, this actually feels like lip balm.  Available in six colors, Red Dahlia is my favorite.  The darkest shade in the collection, it is the perfect dark red for daytime.  But at only $7 each, you may just want to buy every shade.

Huge Lips Skinny Hips Lipgloss – From Purple Labs NYC, HLSH has everything you could want in a lip gloss – plus some stuff you never realized you missed! The “huge lips” come from vitamin B3 to plump your lips without the sting or burn, and the “skinny hips” comes from Hoodia extract, a natural appetite suppressant. The formula is light, creamy, and non-tacky – perfect for smooching away. Our favorite shade: Kitty Poledancer, a wonderfully neutral pink with just a hint of shimmer.

Sexy Smile – If your lips don’t need any more plumping, try Sexy Smile. This double duty gloss contains a long lasting blue-based gloss on one side (to avoid making teeth look unnaturally yellow). The other side contains a breath-freshening mild tooth whitener. Drink that red wine with confidence!

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Perfume – If you can’t get away to France, smell like it, with APOM fragrance from Maison Francis Kurkdjian. At once sensuous and light, this Oriental whiff combines orange flower, cedar wood, and ylang ylang flower. It will have him going “oh la la!”

Scandle – Finish the evening off with a Scandle. These wonderfully fragrant soy candles double as body oil. The wax burns two degrees higher than normal body temp, and is formulated with soy, shea, jojoba, and vitamin E. Pour a little bit for a moisturizing and fragrant massage – just remember to extinguish the flame first!

Dr. Perricone High Potency Eye Lift – Perfect for the morning after a night full of champagne and chocolates, High Potency Eye Lift has Perricone’s patented DMAE as well as phospholipids and pycnogenol to increase collagen, reduce dark circles, hydrate, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and fights the loss of skin elasticity.

Organic, high-quality, eco-aware products that cost less than typical drugstore products – yup, it’s a reality, and it is called EOS. Evolution of Smooth.

Currently the EOS line consists of only two products, but they have obviously put a lot of attention into each. The Ultra-Rich Shave Cream is loaded with aloe, shea butter, and vitamins to offer a moisturizing shave. The product applies more like a lotion than a typical shave cream, so don’t expect a thick coat of suds. But you get a close, easy shave. The company also promises that the shave cream can be used on dry skin as well as wet. Best of all, the shave cream comes in a recyclable, soft-touch plastic bottle with a one-touch pump top. It is easy to use and won’t rust out in the shower – the most important feature for me.

The 95% organic, 100% natural lip balm is loaded with vitamin E and shea butter, and gives long-lasting moisture and feels light on the lips. Don’t let the boy in your life use it: it’s non-colored, non-glossy coverage means you may never get it back. EOS comes in a half-dozen flavors, and two shapes: a traditional stick, and a bulbous sphere. I love the sphere because it is so different and applies easily. I also love that EOS balms don’t come in pots, so you don’t have to stick your grubby little fingers in. Both balm styles come in the same soft-touch packaging.

Shave cream retails for $4.99. Lip balms retail for $3.99. To purchase, visit the EOS store at Drugstore.com or Amazon.com

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This is a cool concept. Lip ID Color Adapt Gloss from Jemma Kidd’s cosmetic line for Target is a gloss that goes on clear, then adjusts to your lips’ pH to get the perfect shade for your personal chemistry. I do not understand the science behind this; nor do I pretend to. I do wonder if pH levels affect skin tones – any chemists/biologists out there?

Anyway, the gloss does as promised: in less than a minute, I had a flattering pink gloss on my lips. It had a hint of a “fruit punch smile” feel to it – in that it created the look of a stain without the lasting power. That was the biggest downside – the gloss lasts about a half-hour. It is surprisingly hydrating, non-sticky, and generally a very comfortable gloss.

Lip ID is available at Target for $20. $20 is a bit steep for a lip gloss, even at Sephora, but it is gimmicky enough to be worth it. But I do have problems paying $20 for a Target lipgloss. Does that make me a snob? Is it a psychological thing? Would YOU pay $20 for a Target lipgloss?

Truly the standout feature is the packaging. Nestled inside a black box subtly embossed with the iconic R&R logo in purple, is a small, flat compact, about the size of three silver dollars stacked together. The compact, made of metal, is cool, sleek, chic, with a satisfying heft. Rather than fumbling with a classic snap case, a tiny magnet holds the lid closed. I worry that it will open in my purse. So far it hasn’t, but I only carried it for a day. The compact doesn’t seal like a traditional compact, so the potential for leakage in warm climes exists. The compact comes with a retractable lip brush that opens and closes with one quick movement, and seals the tip in, making it purse-safe.

Sadly, the gloss couldn’t live up to its exterior. Confession, the shade we checked out, was a beautiful, flattering, shimmering neutral pink. The gloss is very creamy, not sticky at all, which feels nice on, but doesn’t make for a lasting gloss. I applied some as I was leaving the house; it was gone by the time I arrived at dinner, a mere 20 minutes later. My lips were left bare and a touch on the dry side.

I definitely want to try a couple other products from R&R Cosmetics, in hopes of finding a product where the insides match the outsides.

For eyes, Jouer presents two new powder shadows: Peach, a shimmer neutral pinky-peach, and Chestnut, a matte honey brown. The texture is heavenly – light, silky, and creaseless. The color is soft, so if you are looking for a strong pop of color, this is not the way to go. It is easily buildable, without getting cakey.

For lips, there new shades of their gloss, lipstick, and lip definer. Blush is a perfect pink gloss. Kiki is a nude pink shimmer lipstick, loaded with Cupuau butter from Brazil for incredible hydration. Rose Pale lip definer matches Kiki wonderfully, and the jojoba oil, shea butter, and vitamins A & E make it creamy enough to wear on its own.

Bonus fun: all Jouer eyeshadows, blushes, powders, and lip glosses are grooved so they can be linked together to create your own custom palette.

Jouer cosmetics are only available online at JouerCosmetics.com or at Henri Bendel department stores. From May 10th through May 16th, buy any three Jouer products from Henri Bendel, and get the fourth free!

Ramy’s Lip Oil is just that: sweet almond, grape seed, jojoba, and corn oil. Beware – this is not 100% natural, but I have allergy-prone lips, and this does not inflame them. The company says the Lip Oil also contains collagen for instant plumping action, but I did not notice this. It is available in three flavors: mint, rose, and orange.

I tried out the mint flavor. It isn’t like typical flavored lip products, loaded with sweetness. It’s just a hint, so you get the feeling of mint more than the taste. I find that the oil absorbed quickly, which is good and bad. Good – no greasiness. Bad – can sometimes absorb and disappear too quickly, requiring another coat. Bonus – not sticky at all. So many companies claim their lip product isn’t sticky, but your hair truly will not stick to this lip oil.

My only complaint is the packaging. Not only is the bottle glass, the applicator is a dropper. You are supposed to apply a few drops to your lips and, I assume, mush your lips together to spread the oil evenly. I usually use the glass applicator to rub it across my lips like any other lipgloss, but it is not ideal.

At $18 a bottle, Ramy Lip Oil isn’t cheap, but a little goes a long way and I feel like I am getting my money’s worth.

The set comes with the Lip Stamp (with mirrored cap!) and 10 different lip shapes. Select your lip shape, peel it off its card, and affix it to the ergonomic Lip Stamp. Each lip shape is a thick makeup sponge with an adhesive backing. The lip shapes range from small and pouty to large and bowed. Once your lip shape is affixed, coat it edge to edge with your favorite lipstick, and press it against your lips. Be forewarned – the lip pads are not really reusable and as far as I can tell, you cannot order replacement pads at this time.

I used Urban Decay’s Love Junkie lipstick to test this out, and I was surprised at how much lipstick it took to get good coverage. Since the lip shape was a makeup sponge, it absorbs a lot of lipstick. Application was surprisingly easy – I didn’t have a problem lining it up with my lips.

As you can see from the pictures, it works, but looks a little clownish. The shape was pretty much perfect, but I think this is really meant for makeup artists, or for playing dress-up. Without doing any other steps (i.e. using some foundation to cover up exposed lip, etc) the entire process took about 10 minutes. If you wanted a specific, artistic lip shape for a photo shoot, Lip Stamp does the trick. But for every day use, you are better off applying your lipstick the old fashioned way.

Lip Stamp retails for $24.95 and can be purchased at AlconeCo.com

Ok, this is damn near brilliant – why didn’t anyone think of this before? Tooth whitener on one end, lip gloss on the other. Thank you Tarte!

The whitener is Brite Smile, which is a minty gel that is not particularly foul-tasting. It freshens your breath, which is an added bonus. The gloss on the other side is a blue-based shade (your choice of Radiant Red or Pearly Pink) which helps your teeth appear whiter. The gloss itself is made with a proprietary blend of active super fruits: acai, goji, pomegranate, acerola, and maracuja. This is supposed to offer anti-aging, refining and skin-restorative benefits. Sure made my lips feel smooth and healthy!

I tried Radiant Red. It’s a fruit punch red, that is a little brighter than I prefer. It goes on kind of blotchy, but a quick lip press or two gives smooth, even, semi-opaque coverage that isn’t too shiny. Mr. Spork liked it: “It’s a very clean color.” Trust me, that is a compliment.

Just be sure not to make the mistake I made. Both products are twist-click-pen-style with a “ring” in the center. This ring locks the end that is not in use. I did not realize this, and spent 10 minutes twisting the pen, trying to activate the lipgloss. I finally figured out my error, but not before emptying half the tooth whitener into the cap. So when you buy this product, be sure that the lock is pushed AWAY from the end you are using.